Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Are No Turn on Red Signs Confusing?

Yesterday, KATU Channel 2 lead off with this as their top story for 4 PM. I don't agree that it warrants front page cover and the news anchor seemed to spin the information a bit. I hope the thing that the citizens of Portland realize is that it is a construction zone. BikePortland.org mentioned it wasn't ready for prime time and that was somewhat true, but at the same time, how many signals are the day after construction while there is still construction active. We seem to be under the microscope a bit for this and I am okay with that, but the video here confirms that often times the public is quick to make an excuse when in reality you're on shaky ground. The cyclists that didn't see the indication... really? There are two locations where we show you the same indication. I am not sure you could miss it AND the two or three signs in advance of the intersection that describe "bike signal ahead".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oesPzCDB4cc&feature=player_embedded

The key to this for drivers is paying attention to the No Turn on Red Sign. That shouldn't be that hard because there are two of them. One that is a static full time sign (the standard black lettering on white) and the other that is dynamic that comes up right before the bike signal is green and then turns off when the right turn is allowed.

When it says No Turn on Red, we're not just offering this as a hmm, maybe you shouldn't do this. It is a requirement.

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